An EU research project is developing tools to help software engineers create energy-efficient code, which could reduce electricity consumption at data centres by up to 50% and improve battery life in smart devices.
An EU-funded project has demonstrated that biofuel produced from wood and agricultural waste can be used to recycle scrap steel – replacing fossil fuels. The research aims to help Europe’s steel recycling industry cut greenhouse gases, lower costs and become more competitive.
Today (5 December 2014) the European Union and Switzerland signed a comprehensive international agreement associating Switzerland to parts of Horizon 2020, Research and Training Programme of Euratom and the ITER project. This will see Switzerland participate in project consortia in eligible programmes on an equal footing with EU Member States, while financially contributing to these programmes with an estimated €400 million until the end of 2016.
Wind turbine towers are growing taller, with rotor blade diameters exceeding 100 metres. And like any other machine, these ‘giants’ occasionally need repairing. EU-funded researchers have now started to develop a novel system for on-site maintenance.
Many scientists point out that the goal of social sciences is not simply to understand how people behave in large groups, but to understand what motivates individuals to behave the way they do. Could this fundamental insight be transformed in a step forward towards the solution of important societal challenges like traffic congestion or the sustainability a fully electrified transportation system? Among others, those are the questions that DATASIM project tried to address.
EU-funded research has developed new spraying systems for compressing millions of nano-particles to create a super-strong, long-lasting, water-resistant coating on the blades of wind turbines used for generating electricity. With it, wind farms can slash maintenance costs and blade life can be extended by up to 30%, the researchers say.
Global warming, largely caused by increases in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, has a major impact on biodiversity and climatic conditions on Earth. One of the answers to the growing concerns surrounding man-caused greenhouse gas emissions is the development of carbon capture and storage technology (CCS).
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology has the potential to help the European Union (EU) significantly cut its greenhouse gas emissions. However, efficient and reliable pre-combustion capture technologies that can reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel power plants at low cost are still missing.
When it comes to renewable energies, wind and solar power have already become staples of our electricity mix. Wave and tidal energy could be next in line. EU-funded researchers are already making waves, aiming to help industry cut costs and increase reliability with innovative decision-making software.
A brokerage event on Energy and Environment is organised by J’innove network, the Regional council of the Nord-Pas de Calais with the support of Entreprise Europe Network and the Tandem Interreg project France-Wallonie-Vlaanderen.
The aim of this event is to connect the research and innovation stakeholders willing to participate at the Energy and Environment challenges of Horizon 2020 framework program. The participants will have the opportunity to meet and discuss about their project ideas. This event will allow you to make new contacts and find partners! The brokerage event is also an opportunity to meet European projects experts (research centres, funding opportunities and support for the project) during B2B meetings or in stands. The aim of bilateral meetings (B2B) is to give space to the participants for a discussion about opportunities for collaboration in the field of energy and environment.
This new edition of RE.WORK Technology Summit will explore new technological advancements shaping the future of business and society. Industry leaders, technology pioneers, entrepreneurs, researchers and government will explore emerging technologies including robotics, BCI, the internet of things, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence
An EU-funded project has demonstrated technology to shorten the time carbon takes to mineralise underground – from thousands of years down to a few. Storing captured CO2 underground is made safer – opening the door to its wider use in preventing global warming.
By far the most heated debate surrounding biofuels is the use of food crops to produce fuel, as the practice increases the competition for land and drives up the price of food . With a decade of research behind it, the European Union (EU)-funded project KACELLE has proven that crops such as wheat and maize do not necessarily need to be used in the increasing demand for energy.
One of the innovations expected to help Europe reduce its energy use and cut emissions is the smart meter, which shows exactly how much gas and electricity is being used in real time. Various smart meters have been produced in recent years, but the widespread introduction of advanced metering infrastructures has been blocked by the lack of widely accepted open standards to ensure the interoperability of systems and devices.
Research partnerships between the EU, the private sector and Member States presented their first calls for projects and partners under Horizon 2020, the EU's €80 billion research and innovation programme, at an event in Brussels on 9 July 2014.
The new contract for JET facilities has been signed on 6 June 2014 between the European Commission and the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy. It is a major EUR 283 million contract, under Article 10 of the Euratom Treaty that enables exploitation of JET - the world’s largest experimental magnetic fusion device - to continue until the end of 2018.
The creation of the European Science and Technology Network on Unconventional Hydrocarbon Extraction was decided in the Commission Communication on the exploration and production of hydrocarbons (such as shale gas) using high-volume hydraulic fracturing in the EU, issued on 22 January 2014. The network aims to "bring together practitioners from industry, research, academia as well as civil society. The Network will collect, analyse and review results from exploration projects as well as assess the development of technologies used in unconventional gas and oil projects". You can follow it online: https://scic.ec.europa.eu/streaming/index.php?es=2&sessionno=3cc697419ea18cc98d525999665cb94a
The Andasol solar power station is Europe's first parabolic trough solar power facility. Andasol will supply environmentally friendly solar power to about 500,000 residents in Spain. The new plant will cut carbon emissions in the region by 450,000t per annum compared with conventional coal-fired power plants.
This short video animation will guide you through the first steps you will need to take to apply to Horizon 2020.
Find out more about Horizon 2020 in this three minute animation clip which will give you a general overview of the programme specifics.
